Leading American automaker Tesla saw a significant surge in demand in the first half of January 2023, primarily due to the implemented major price cuts. Consequently, the EV giant’s global estimated electric car order backlog rebounded last month.
Tesla’s global order backlog record
Troy Teslike reported that Tesla’s global order backlog grew by 45% to 107,000 units as of January 15, 2023, indicating a significant increase from the 74,000 on December 31, 2022.
In retrospect, the order backlog last year is as follows:
- 163,000 units as of December 8
- 190,000 units as of November 30
- nearly 300,000 units from September 30 through October
- nearly 400,000 units as of August 31
- nearly 500,000 from March and July
Troy Teslike noted that the provided figures are “based on carefully tracked Tesla-related stats (production volume, average wait times for each model).”
Tesla’s global order backlog rebounds
The estimate suggests that the 107,000 units equal around 30 days of production capacity. Prior to this estimate, it was predicted to last for 23 days on December 31; 40 days on December 8; 44 days on November 30; 70 days on October 6; and 78 days on September 21.
That said, orders for Tesla EVs now surpass the current production capacity. It comes as no surprise, given the major price cuts and the $7,500 federal tax credits in selected Tesla EVs in the US. Apart from that, Tesla has also lowered its prices in China, Europe, and other major markets.
Indeed, “price really matters,” as stated by CEO Elon Musk during the Tesla Q4 and full-year 2022 financial results and Q&A webcast.
Considering the eligibility of Tesla EVs and the current price cuts, the automaker is expected to receive more orders than it can produce. That said, Tesla may change the prices again to balance the supply and demand.
Notably, the following markets accounted for the order backlog total as of January 15:
| Markets | Units and Manufacturing Capacity |
| US | 38,697 (30 days) |
| Canada | 2,774 (31 days) |
| Europe | 30,246 (35 days) |
| China | 14,258 (17 days) |
| Other | 21,143 (76 days) |
| Total | roughly 107,000 (30 days) |
As shown in the table above, the three major markets (US, China, Europe) now only have a 17-35 days gap in manufacturing capacity. Undoubtedly, the significant price drop in Tesla EVs contributed to the rebound in the order backlog.
